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NCAA Basketball: Top 10 teams who missed the Big Dance in 2018 but will return in 2019

By Tristan Freeman

SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 31: A general view of the court during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal introductions between the Michigan Wolverines and the Loyola Ramblers at the Alamodome on March 31, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 31: A general view of the court during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal introductions between the Michigan Wolverines and the Loyola Ramblers at the Alamodome on March 31, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Oregon Ducks fans cheer during the team’s quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Utah Utes at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks won 68-66. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Oregon Ducks fans cheer during the team’s quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Utah Utes at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks won 68-66. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

2. LSU Tigers

2017-18 season record: 18-15 (8-10)

First-year head coach Will Wade had a much better season with the Tigers than expected, getting eight wins in conference play. That’s because of the SEC’s leader in assists Tremont Waters, whose freshman season went incredibly under the radar.

LSU will bring back the team’s most important players, as well as the No. 4 recruiting class of 2018. Five star forwards Naz Reid and Emmitt Williams will be instant impact freshmen right out the gate. If Waters can become the SEC Player of the Year candidate that he’s already shown the capabilities of doing, then the Tigers could go from worst to first in just a couple of years.

1. Oregon Ducks

2017-18 season record: 23-13 (10-8)

In many ways last season was a transition year for the team, after losing so much production from that Final Four squad a couple of years ago. But instead of using stop-gap grad transfers, head coach Dana Altman went and got a top-3 recruiting class. Five-star prospects Bol Bol and Louis King are the headliners, but all of the incoming players will have a chance to make their mark for Oregon in 2018-19.

Their best asset is their returning point guard Payton Pritchard, who as of now has to be the preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year favorite. He’ll be tasked with guiding the younger players to postseason success.

Next: 10 teams who made the 2018 NCAA Tournament but who miss it in 2019

There will be many factors that’s going to determine whether these teams make the NCAA Tournament, including health and which players step up for them. There will be opportunities for each of these listed programs to avoid back-to-back years of missing out on the Big Dance, they’ll just have to take advantage of it.

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